The King's Brother
by kurgaya
Summary: AU - Sequel to Little Red Memory. So Ichigo has the whistle now. What's he going to do with it? Is Toshiro ok after the accident? Will they ever see, or hear, from each other again? Why does Fate seem to hate them both so much? No slash.


Illusion never changed,  
Into something real.  
I'm wide awake and I can see,  
The perfect sky is torn.  
You're a little late, I'm already torn.

~ Torn (Natalie Imbruglia)

* * *

"_Those fuckers were his parents! It's too bad they didn't die in the crash!"_

"_Please, miss, be reasonable."_

"_Reasonable? Don't tell me to be reasonable when my daughter's best friend is lying in hospital because his parents hit him with a car! Now you're going to take this to court so that Tōshirō can get away from those horrid people, officer, or I'm going to do it myself!"_

* * *

_Breathe your life into me, I still need you, I'm falling, falling breathe into me!_

In other words he had a text. Tōshirō glared at the mobile lying before him, silently hoping that it was going to answer itself, but when it didn't he sighed and smacked his hand against the desk, picking up the flashing phone and opening the text.

_Morning Tōshirō! I have great news!_

Tōshirō's eyebrows rose and he kicked off the blue covers and swung his legs over the side of the bed. Nina? With news? What could she want now? She had been constantly texting him for the past week asking him if he was ok and if he was settling in alright. As much as he appreciated the concern it wasn't like he couldn't handle moving into an orphanage by himself. The people that worked here weren't scary at all – it would be stupid if they were – and everybody had made his first day very easy. Well, as easy as they could make it for him. It wasn't that he minded being here, oh no, it certainly beat being with his parents (who had lost the court case before he could even say 'assholes') and he was secretly glad that the judge had placed him in an orphanage rather than with Nina.

Not that there was anything wrong with Nina, it was just that… it would have been awkward.

Shaking his head he reread the text and then replied, already imagining Nina's impatient face.

_What?_ He text back, quickly checking the time on his phone. 10:28am. Yeah ok, it was time to get up. He stood from the bed, stretching his thin arms above his head and yawned loudly. He then rubbed his sleepy eyes and trudged through the room looking for clothes. When he had picked up a red jacket and a pair of jeans and turned around he noticed that the phone had gone off again. Sighing and giving up on his hunt to look for socks, he wandered back over to the bed.

_You took your time to answer! Have you still not put your phone on vibrate? You know you're not going to be able to hear the ringtone – oh sorry, that sounded harsh._

Tōshirō rolled his eyes at his friend's text, not really offended at all, and scrolled down to read the rest of the text, but quickly found that there wasn't any. God, it was so like Nina not to include anymore and he groaned, having to text back.

_Get on with it._

This time he didn't chuck the phone back down, but switched it to vibrate and slipped it into his pyjama pocket. Now Nina won't be able to complain about him not hearing the ringtone…

_Aw, have you only just woken up?_ The next text read as Tōshirō dodged out of Rinoa's way as she ran down the long corridor outside his room squealing with delight as Kimiko chased her.

"Yes Nina," he spat sarcastically, watching the two girls zip around the corner. "Now hurry up and tell me!"

He wasn't entirely sure what talking to a phone was going to do but it seemed to work for another text came through.

_Mum and I are going to the Kurosaki's for dinner!_

Tōshirō dropped the phone and it hit the sink before smashing all over the bathroom floor.

"Fuck!"

* * *

_Meanwhile._

Ichigo was sitting at the desk when his father walked into the room. He didn't notice, however, because his headphones were firmly on his head blasting out whatever song was on the shuffle. The pen in his hand tapped against the wooden desk, the math homework beating him, and Isshin pondered over and peered over his son's shoulder.

"How you doing Ichigo?"

"Ah!" Ichigo yelled, suddenly spotting his father's grin beside his ear. "Don't do that old man!"

Isshin laughed at his son's shocked face and leaned back, pulling Ichigo's headphones off his head as he did. "Hey!" the teenager cried, grasping futilely at the air to get back his music. "Give me those back!"

Isshin waved the headphones as him carelessly and Ichigo's mouth dropped open in horror. "If you break those…" he muttered, the threat dying on the edge of his lips.

"Trust me Ichigo!" Isshin cried happily. "Your headphones are in safe hands!"

It was pretty clear they were not, but Ichigo didn't say. Instead he asked, dropping the biro onto the desk and spinning around in his chair to father his father. "What do you want goat-face?"

Isshin continued to smile. "We're having guests tonight."

"I'll be in my room," Ichigo groaned, but Isshin put a hand on his shoulder. "No, no," he said to his son. "There's a girl I want you to meet."

Ichigo fumbled, going bright red. "You hooker!" he yelled, outraged.

Isshin laughed full heartedly, throwing his head back in the process and almost, much to Ichigo's dismay, dropping the headphones. "Not like that my dear son! Her name's Nina and she and her mother wish to talk to us about something. Hear that Ichigo? _Us_."

Ichigo flicked his father in the nose and snatched back his headphones, sticking them back over his ears to hear that the song had changed to Bullet For My Valentine. "Alright, whatever dad," he said, turning back to his malevolent math homework. "Go away."

Isshin Kurosaki did just that, though with a merry skip in his step.

* * *

_Elsewhere._

"Hmm…" said a girl with fiery red hair which she flicked away from her emerald eyes. She was sat on a purple bed and intently staring at the yellow mobile in her hand. Her pretty lips were dropped into a frown and she huffed, looking at the clock. "Tōshirō hasn't replied yet…"

* * *

_Back at the orphanage._

The last bit of toast disappeared into his mouth and Tōshirō, now licking his lips, glanced over as someone dropped into the seat next to him in the canteen. He already knew who it was, for it wouldn't be anybody else, and Zephyr's short black hair bobbed down into a friendly nod. Tōshirō smiled back and said, "Morning Z."

'Z' nodded again with a smile and took a long gulp of the glass of water.

They were an odd pair, Zephyr Zuzaki and Tōshirō Hitsugaya, but their differences were probably the reason that they had struck such a friendship. Zephyr wasn't the first person Tōshirō had met upon arrival, oh no, but he had certainly been the first to not fret over him; actually, Zephyr had been the only person to just sit silently and wait for whatever reaction Tōshirō was going to have to his new predicament.

Not that Zephyr could have said anything if he had wanted to, for the young boy wasn't able to talk.

Again, Tōshirō did not mind in the slightest, and as a matter of fact he preferred it; a person talking to a deaf person was rather annoying.

Ah, yes, the deafness. The doctors didn't know if it was going to be temporary or not so all they could do was live in hope. Person upon person had pitied him, saying how awful it must be not being able to hear (of course they had written down what they wanted to say to him because being deaf obviously meant that he couldn't hear them fussing over him) but honestly, Tōshirō didn't really give a damn being deaf.

Shit happens, no? And he was just going to learn to deal with it. Hopefully everybody else was going to learn to as well…

There was a quick tap on his shoulder and Tōshirō snapped away from his thoughts to see Zephyr sliding a piece of paper across the table. Tōshirō understood immediately and looked down at the message.

**Heard you broke your phone this morning?**

Tōshirō laughed half heartedly. "Yeah," he agreed. "Nina's going to be down my throat about it."

Zephyr pulled a funny expression at him and Tōshirō lit up like a Christmas tree. "Not literally you dirty minded moron!" he yelled, trying very hard to keep the smile off of his face. Zephyr's face didn't change. "She's not my girlfriend!" Tōshirō continued and other people in the canteen stopped in their eating to see what the yelling was about. "Honestly Z, stop looking at me like that, I don't fancy her."

Zephyr just continued to grin and Tōshirō groaned. "Boys."

"In case you didn't notice Tōshirō, you're also a – oh damn, you can't hear me can you?" Zephyr turned his grin to the girl now sitting opposite him and Tōshirō took this chance to stick his tongue out at him when he wasn't looking. Amaterasu ('Ama') giggled in her seventeen year old way and handed Zephyr a chocolate chip cookie. "I saved it for you," she said and Zephyr's eyes glowed.

"True love…" Tōshirō sighed dramatically and Zephyr almost choked on his cookie. Two glares were sent his way but Tōshirō just laughed, taking a mental note to set them up together at some point.

"We are not going out!" Ama said, again forgetting that Tōshirō was deaf.

Tōshirō reminded her by tapping his ears and smiled wildly. "Shout a bit louder!" he said and Amaterasu poured her bowl of noodles over his head.

* * *

_Not long after._

It's weird, he thought standing in the shower for the second time that day, not being able to hear the water running from the shower head and hitting the bath. Tōshirō had been in the orphanage for a week now, and deaf for slightly longer, but he was still not used to being so… closed off. It's not until you're deaf you realize just how noisy everything is, he added mentally, tipping his head back and shutting his eyes.

_I can't see and I can't hear… I am completely shut out from the world…_

"Man that's scary," he then said aloud, getting a mouthful of steaming water in the process. He looked down again and opened his eyes, not being able to cope with not seeing.

His previously cold, bruised, and thin body was now fully healed and healthy, despite his skin still being pale, and he sighed at the gentle feeling of the warm water soothing him. He was happy here. He was safe. A little lonely, but…

He wanted his little red whistle back…

He hadn't seen it since the day of the accident… since he had seen Ichigo in the café. He wondered what the older teen was doing right now, and wondered what bin his whistle had been put into or if it was still lying on the cold pavement where the car crash had been. He wondered if somebody had picked it up. Or if a dog had gotten hold of it. Or if it had been kicked aside and forgotten. Or… or…

"Fuck," he moaned, and he tipped his head back once again to let the water wash away his tears.

* * *

_Later._

Not to far away Ichigo Kurosaki watched as one of his little sisters rushed around the kitchen in a 'spring cleaning' frenzy. Of course, it wasn't spring, and it wasn't Karin, but Yuzu looked quite the part in her pink apron and a feather duster in her hands. She was always like this when they had guests coming around and the other members of the family (most certainly the boys) had learned to keep well out of her way. Considering this it was a mystery as to why Ichigo was sitting at the kitchen table because that, certainly, wasn't far away.

"You look glum Onii-chan," said Yuzu sweetly, beginning to dust the table.

"Nah, I'm alright Yuzu," Ichigo replied, swishing the cold coffee in his cup around. "I'm just thinking."

"About what?" Yuzu asked, lifting up the placement Ichigo was using to sweep under it. "And make sure you're not moody when the guests arrive!"

Ichigo chuckled. "I'll be better when the guests arrive, don't worry," he said, and he patted her on the head in a brotherly manner. "And don't you worry about what I'm thinking about, it's not important."_ To you… But to me, it's got to be one of the most important things in the world…_

And he reached up and clutched the little red whistle hanging from his neck through his shirt.

* * *

_Evening – with Nina_

"I hate dresses," Nina moaned to the full length mirror on her wardrobe door, frowning at her very yellow reflection.

"You look lovely," said her mother, who was also wearing a dress. However hers was a royal shade of blue, instead of bright yellow like her daughter's.

Nina scoffed. "Tōshirō would say I look like a walking lemon."

"And he would be right," laughed Tami, and Nina glared at her in the mirror. "You're not making me feel any better," the teenager groaned, crossing her arms over her chest. "Can we just get our stuff and leave?"

"Yes, yes," said Tami, a smile stuck to her face. "Of course – let's go."

Nina rolled her eyes and tucked a long strand of hair behind her ear, following her mother out of her bedroom and down the stairs.

Tonight was going to be interesting.

* * *

_With Tōshirō._

Tōshirō moved the white chess piece forward and sighed, realizing that he had just let his final bishop get taken. Zephyr smiled, sitting on the opposite side of the board, and took the bishop with his knight, tapping the board once to indicate to Tōshirō that it was 'check'.

"How'd you even get a chessboard Z?" Tōshirō asked, shifting around his remaining pieces to guard the King. "I don't remember Mimi ever mentioning having one; shoji, but not chess."

Zephyr shrugged, obviously not wanting to share, and continued the game.

Tōshirō shrugged in response and then moaned when he was put in 'check' again. "I suck at chess!" he yelled, and he had to sacrifice a knight to protect the King. "And why can't the King be more useful?" he whined.

Zephyr paused and scribbled down something on the notebook he always carried around with him.

**It's a bit like life don't you think?**

"How?" Tōshirō asked.

**The King's the male and the Queen's the female – she's the strongest piece of the game – **

" – and the woman does all the work," finished Tōshirō, not even having to look at the rest of the message to see what his friend was getting at. Zephyr nodded happily and Tōshirō snorted. "Chess is sexist!"

The black haired boy moved a piece and then wrote,

**What about the rest of the pieces then?**

"Dunno," said Tōshirō, and he gave the board on the table a long, hard stare. "They all have to protect the King. Pawns are useless – other than for sacrificing I guess. Bishops, knights, and castles are pretty cool, but still, they have to protect the King – that's the whole point of the game."

**Who's the King?**

Tōshirō looked confused for a moment, wondering what on earth his friend was getting at. "Well… The King's whoever's at the top. The father?"

Zephyr paused too, and both boys looked at each other with mirror expressions on their faces.

"Why does the father need protecting?" Tōshirō asked, and Zephyr nodded, wondering exactly the same thing. The deaf boy sat back in his chair and ran a hand through his hair. "Odd."

**Because he's the boss?**

"Nah, I dunno Z," Tōshirō replied, passing the notebook back. "They're usually the strongest people." And he picked up his King piece from the board and looked at it, as if he were examining it for clues. "Well… he's the crappiest piece on the board, so that's why he needs protecting, but he's also the most important. What if… what if he's the weakest person in the family?"

**Like us?**

Tōshirō put the piece down. "Yeah," he said slowly. "But you know what the difference is between your King there and us?"

Zephyr shook his head and ended the game, putting Tōshirō into 'Checkmate'.

"Your King didn't lose."

* * *

_At the Kurosaki residence._

Dinner, so far, was going swimmingly. No, no one had drowned, and the sink hadn't overflowed, but in fact, all six members of the house were chatting and laughing (as dry as can be) at the table in the kitchen, dinner already halfway finished.

"So," Isshin Kurosaki said, setting down his glass. "What can I help you two ladies with?"

Tami Tomika smiled sweetly at being called a 'lady' (Nina giggling next to her) and took a sip of wine. "What I am going to say you may find forward and rude but after spending a wonderful dinner here in your company I believe it to be the best idea my daughter has ever come up with."

"I'm flattered mum."

Isshin suddenly looked unsure but he let the woman sitting opposite him continue. Tami did so, getting straight to the point without hesitation. "I would not be the only person absolutely over the moon if you were to adopt a friend of my daughter's."

Ichigo almost dropped his knife and fork. He was not the only one.

"Adopt?" Karin blurted rudely. "Why?"

"Karin," Isshin said firmly, and then sat back in his chair thoughtfully. "I don't really understand," he said. "Why come all this way – to a complete stranger's house nonetheless – and ask them to adopt a child they've never met?"

"You have met him," said Tami. "His name is Tōshirō Hitsugaya. And I know you must be confused, and I'm very sorry but –"

"You're kidding?" Ichigo interrupted. "Tōshirō? Is he ok?"

"Ok?" asked Isshin.

"He's the one I said got hit by the car dad, remember? We met him years ago with mum. White hair, teal eyes, has a little red whi…stle…" He paused. "Where is he?"

"He's at the orphanage," said Nina slowly. "His parents were to court for child abuse –"

" – and for hitting their son with a car," added Tami, and Ichigo's mouth dropped open.

"His parents were driving that car?"

"That's horrible!" shouted Karin.

"Why would they do that?" asked Yuzu, her face pale. "How badly was he hurt?"

Tami waited until the shock had died down before continuing. "He was bashed up but the only permanent damage was deafness."

None of the Kurosakis said anything. Nina's phone went off. "Sorry, sorry," she said, knowing how rude it was. However Isshin waved his hand in dismissal and said, "It's alright, you can answer it."

"Ah – thank you," said Nina, and she slipped her phone out of her cardigan pocket. She took one look at the number and frowned. "Who's that?" But she answered anyway. "Hello?"

"_Hi there, you must be Nina!"_ said the female voice on the other end.

"Yes, who's this?"

"_Oh, my name's Ama, I'm a friend of Tōshirō's."_

"Oh," said Nina. "Can I help you with something?"

"_Actually, yes, there's something Tōshirō wanted to tell you –"_

"So why doesn't he text me?"

"_He dropped his phone and it smashed,"_ Amaterasu said bluntly, and Nina groaned.

"Boys," she said. "Alright, put Tōshirō on."

"Tōshirō's there?" asked Tami, looking at her daughter.

"Oh, yeah," said Nina, nodding to her mother. And then she looked around the table to see the Kurosakis watching her. "Hang on, I'll put it on speaker."

She switched it to speaker just as a quiet voice spoke from the mobile. _"Hey Nina, I'm assuming you're still there of course, but I can't text you at the moment because I dropped my phone. Sorry, but I just wanted to ask, what do you mean you're going around the Kurosaki's for dinner?"_

Everybody laughed, and the thick tension in the room before hand just seemed to fly out of the window.

"_Hey Ama,"_ said Tōshirō. _"Has she said anything?"_

"_No actually,"_ said Ama, and it was obvious that both sides of the conversation were now on speaker phone. _"Zephyr, write down a note to Tōshirō and tell him that they're all laughing at him."_

There was a moment's silence from Tōshirō's end, and in the Kurosaki residence the members had finally calmed down.

"_Nina, are you at the Kurosaki's?"_ asked Tōshirō shyly.

Nina let out a final giggle. "Yes. It's on speaker if you want to talk to them."

There was a pause yet again, obviously Zephyr was writing down what was being said to Tōshirō.

"_Um…Hello," _was finally said, and Karin and Yuzu both 'awwwed'.

"Hey Tōshirō," said Ichigo, and Nina smiled at him.

"_You've got a nice voice,"_ said Ama. _"I bet you're cute."_

Ichigo flushed darkly. "Back off," teased Nina. "He's mine." Karin whistled and Isshin laughed. "You've got two cute boys to pick from there," continued Nina, seeing her mother wink at her.

"_Yeah but do you know how hard it is to get a conversation out of them? Tōshirō's deaf and Zephyr doesn't talk! I get so lonely! Whoa, Zephyr – are you writing down everything I say?"_

"_Ha!" _Tōshirō suddenly laughed._ "It's true love – I told you so!"_

There was a 'smack' as Zephyr hit Tōshirō with the notebook.

"I like this kid," said Karin. "Is he really the one you met at the beach all those years ago Ichi-nii?"

Ichigo nodded, smiling. "No doubt about it. Though, he talks a lot more than he did."

"That's because he hasn't got his whistle," said Nina.

"_Whistle?"_ asked Ama. _"Tōshirō what whistle are they talking about?"_

Pause. _"Oh, just a little red one I used to carry with me everywhere. I lost it in the accident." _He sounded downtrodden and Ichigo suddenly felt incredibly guilty, but happy at the same time. _"I really want it back."_

"I've got it," said Ichigo, and he pulled it out from underneath his shirt. "Ama tell Tōshirō."

So she did. _"You have?"_ Tōshirō cried, and they could all hear the happiness in his voice. _"Is it damaged? Where is it right now? Can I have it back? Or… do you want to keep it?"_

Ichigo looked over at his quiet father. Isshin caught the look in his son's eyes and sighed, leaning forward and putting his elbows on the table. "Guess we're going to have a new member to the family pretty soon. Would you like that Tōshirō?"

"_Tōshirō, Tōshirō!"_ Ama yelled. _"I think they want to adopt you! You lucky brat!"_

"…_Adopt me? Why me?"_

"Ichigo's already got your whistle," said Isshin, and Tami and Nina both grinned wildly as Yuzu and Karin cheered. "And Masaki's heart went out towards you the first time she met you – she couldn't stop talking about you for days. I'd love to get to know the boy who could do that to her."

Tōshirō sounded like he was about to cry. _"But – but I'm deaf – I –"_

"That's not a problem Tōshirō," Isshin said slowly, hearing the fast scribble of the pen on the other end of the line. "I'm a doctor, I've coped with worse things. Now, how about we move you in right away?"

"…_Thanks…"_ Tōshirō said. _"I… I don't know what to say."_

"Then don't say anything," said Ichigo, and he, like everybody else in the room, was smiling. "Welcome to the family otouto."

* * *

Otouto - little brother

Nina, her mother, and all the people in the orphanage (minus Toshiro) belong to me.

**Here it is! The sequel to 'Little Red Memory'! Sorry for the wait but I hope you've enjoyed it! Please review ^^**

**xTKx**


End file.
